TRAVEL AND TOURS

San Martin de los Andes is the hub for tourism in the Neuquen province. On the shores of Lake Lácar, the city appears in a natural basin that protects it from the wind. Its geographical site is of curious beauty, almost hidden in a sumptuous amphitheater in the mountains that preserves the fertility of its lake and forest environment.

San Martin de los Andes is part of a natural habitat that characteristic of the humid Patagonian Andes, consisting of mountains covered with dense forests of colihue, pires, oaks and cypresses, crystalline streams and great biodiversity, constituting a high quality environment for its inhabitants that lead a privileged life, surrounded by forests.

In addition to the ecological attractiveness and peace and quiet of its great stretches of greenery and the Lanín National Park, the largest in the province of Neuquen (383,612 has), San Martin de los Andes is the "jewel" of the "Corredor de los Siete Lagos" (Seven Lakes Belt). Thanks to the beauty of nature, the famous "belt" and the Lanín National Park are the major attractions of this region. This makes a visit to this city a must: it offers the enchantment of snow in winter and adventure tourism in summer, together with an imposing contact with nature.

It is a pleasing, alpine-like city with wooden houses and wide paved streets with a neat layout. It was founded on February 4, 1898, on the shores of Lake Lácar. At present, it houses a community of 23,354 inhabitants (according to the 2001 provisional census). Perhaps the imposing beauty of its scenery has been the determining factor of its explosive urban growth as well as of the growth of its tourism activity over the last decade.

Essentially a lake area par excellence, where the blue hue of its lakes makes a striking contrast with the dark green of its forests, its main attractions are defined by the beauty of its enchanting landscape. Lakes, rivers and hills, plus a unique fauna and flora and the whole forest combine with the peace and quietude of this natural environment, enhanced of course by the well-known warmth and quality of its guest services.

As the most important location close to Lanín National Park, it has an excellent tourism infrastructure, making it the starting point for excursions through the area. Honoring its reputation as a "family tourism center", the city puts many options at the disposal of its visitors including, of course, entertainment and tours of its natural wonders.

The town provides different lodging options for tourists. With an offer of more than 4,000 beds, mainly distributed among 3 to 5-star hotels (it has hostelries and cabins also) all offer excellent food and night entertainment. Its cosy restaurants specialise in venison, trout, fondue and international cuisine, as well as picturesque tea houses and Viennese pastry houses form part of its gastronomic offer.

The whole region has a highly diversified charm. Almost all the options of adventure tourism, such as rafting, hang-gliding, trekking, volcano climbing, etc, are to be found here.

In summer, the main thing is to get in touch with nature, within Lanín National Park, which offers many different possibilities: salmonid sport fishing, trekking, rafting, mountaineering, photo safaris, 4 wheel-drive excursions, etc. Here, the summer season extends to the month of April.

Visitors can enjoy fishing the whole year round, with the additional possibility of catching a wide variety of trouts in the nearby rivers and lakes. The great number of rivers and lakes enable sport fishing in all of its modes (fly casting, trolling and spinning). These rivers are the most popular: Caleufu, Hermoso, Collón Curá, Malleo, Chimehuín, Aluminé or Quilquihue.

During wither the city is covered by snow. This makes the nearby winter sports center of Chapelco an ideal environment to practice skiing. In June, tourism starts again, as the tourists and skiers flock into the Cerro Chapelco ski resort.

Besides, any one can enjoy activities such as lake excursions. For nautical sports enthusiasts, San Martin de los Andes has sailing, kayaking, windsurf and water skiing.

LOCATION
Inserted in the middle of the Andes Cordillera, in the southwest of Neuquen province, on the eastern shore of Lake Lácar and in the fertile Vega Maipú valley, San Martin de los Andes lies at 640 masl, 1.575 km away from Buenos Aires and only 45 km away from the Chilean border.